There is a Story inside Everyone

As a novice, I can only speak from the heart, not from experience. First and foremost if you feel within you dwells a story then write it. Don’t mimic me and put it off. For years my family and friends encouraged me to write. With a love of history, the gift of a great memory, and a vivid imagination, I finally took their advice. A person once said, “In every person, there lies a story waiting to be told,” this I strongly believe. Writing can be gratifying and aggravating but in the end, it is the most rewarding experience. I started writing not for the monetary factor but for self-satisfaction. Once I started I couldn’t stop, I’m currently working on two books. Continue reading →

Developing a Scene

One approach to writing your novel is to construct it scene by scene guided by your overall plot. Writing craft resources describe the various components of a well-developed scene. The components generally discussed are the role of the protagonist actions, point of view, scene and plot relationship. In addition to conflict and tension, timeline and physical setting, imagery, and the balance between narration and dialogue.

Creating Your Skeleton

For the emerging writer, the challenge becomes how to put these components together in a fashion that will produce a memorable scene. You still want to make sure it serves your plot while developing your characters and advancing the story. In thinking about how to do this, the word “anatomy” came to mind and led me think of a skeleton. I thought, maybe, a scene is like a skeleton to which we must add “meat.” Thus, my “skeleton approach” to scene development. In this approach, rather than use all 206 bones in the adult human, only gross anatomy, the head, arms, torso, and feet are used. This approach works when you realize that each scene is a mini-story itself. Now let’s explore how this approach can be applied.

Some stories are timeless and transcend genre boundaries. These stories reach across barriers of time and age. All of the greatest stories have certain things in common, and in the post The Five Essential Elements of a Great Story, Archway Publishing looks at some of these key craft components.

Five Essential Elements

Protagonist – There’s a reason the Harry Potter series bears his name.

Antagonist – Do you remember the name of the man who threw the harpoon, or the name Moby-Dick?

An Inciting Action – World War Z was a phenomenon, largely because reader new right from the first page that something incredible had happened.

Conflict – Would Sherlock Holmes have worked as well without the foil of Moriarty?

Resolution – Readers invest in the stories they read; you have to reward them for that investment.

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Editing Advice from Archway

“Terms in editing can be confusing,” claims the post The Different Types of Editing, from Archway Publishing. “When hiring an editor, always speak to him or her about exactly what the editing includes.”

This advice is excellent because sometimes even experienced writers are confused about the differences between copy-editing and developmental editing. Other types of editing like line editing and mechanical editing sound—and can be sold—as if they are the same thing. Continue reading →

Finding Mistakes

If you’re reading this, then chances are you’re a writer. And if you’re a writer, then chances are you’ve read a book and set it down in disappointment because you found some mistakes that offend your sense of professionalism.

We all have.

Worse than finding an annoying blunder while reading is when an error is pointed out in your own work. A person finds a mistake in your work that you somehow missed. This is a mortifying moment. It’s especially annoying because the mistake is usually obvious after it’s been found. We know you hate this sensation and moment as much as we do! Continue reading →